Celebrate three spine-tingling weeks of awe, suspense and safe trick-or-treating at the Children’s Museum of Houston

Discover the spooky magic of “All Hallows’ Eve” at the Children’s Museum of Houston as it enchantingly morphs into the Happy Halloween Mansion, Oct. 13– 31, 2012. As our creaking doors open for three weeks, be greeted by giant spiders, creepy critters, and flying ghosts and begin your spellbinding adventure throughout the Mansion. Guided by the dim lights of gaudy candelabras, wander through haunting hallways in search of goblin goodies, terrifying trinkets and more!

Move your bones in the Thriller Dance Party at 3:30 p.m. followed by Trick-or-Treating from 4 to 6 p.m. every day!

Come to the Halloween Spooktacular to enjoy live DJ, dancing, pumpkin decorating, trick-or-treating and more on Oct. 31!

Each exhibit will be transformed into its very own Halloween wonderland complete with thrills and chills! Upon arrival, the mansion staff will welcome you and “check you in” the Trick-or-Treat Scavenger Hunt. Follow the Spooky Hall and nab your own bag to decorate and collect your treats. Get into the howling spirit and Monster Call guests to join you with a buzzing device you create (Oct. 20 – 31). Come across odd characters with magical tablets during your visit. These tablets will capture Creepy Creatures in Pictures every day. Don’t be afraid of what you might see …But beware! These images will crawl up in your inbox!

Tour the Mansion and tippy-toe past the Bloodsucking Lair of giant parasitical bugs to the Mad Lab where you will ooze with amazement and ickiness as you experiment with Wiggly Worms, Slimy Orbs (Oct. 13 – 19) and take home a SlimePotion. (Oct. 20 – 31).

Turn to Bootropolis where fleeting ghosts will greet you and unleash your inner mischievous sprite to create Creepy TexturedCreatures. Avoid an encounter of the third kind when you inch past the Extraterrestrial Tower. If you dare, that’s where you’ll experiment pumping blood through a heart model in Jeepers Cardiac Creepers and compete in Vlad’s Blood Race to see if you can move blood through the body as fast as you heart beats. Yikes!

Delve further down into the Mansion’s Dungeon and meet. Frankenstein! Channel your own Dr. Frankenstein and bring your robotic Franken-critter creations to life (Oct. 25 – 31) or take part in uncanny experiments making biting vampire mouths, jumping ghouls (Oct. 18 – 24) or even Pumpkin-pults (Oct. 13 -17).

Be brave and take a detour into the forbidden courtyard and get lost in the Maze. If you can make it out, take photos in the Pumpkin Patch. Then, head over to the Hidden Tarantula Hut to get Batty about Bats making bat skeletons and bat flipbooks or playing a game of nocturnal concentration.

Don’t forget to show off your zombie moves and join the Thriller DanceParty at 3:30 p.m. every day! Take home “souvenirs” when you create maniacal Halloween Pattern Bracelets or Spooky Symmetry at the ExxonMobil Math Cart. You may also visit the Temptation Station, uh rather, Fiddle Sticks Toys for more!

HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR – OCT. 31

The Halloween Spooktacular brings you live DJ, dancing, pumpkin decorating, trick-or-treating and more from 4 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 31! Howl at the moon while you bask in Houston’s ultimate Halloween party for kids. Decorate awesome, scary pumpkins to take home with you (from 4 to 6 p.m.) and let the ghoul time’s roll as you boogie to the hauntingly hip tunes of an undead DJ. Be sure to come dressed in your most boo-tiful or frightfully freaky costume!

***Activities, events and times subject to change.

ABOUT CHILDREN’S MUSEUM OF HOUSTON

America’s No. 1 Children’s Museum” by Parents Magazine, among Forbes’ “Best Children’s Museums in the U.S.”, winner of Nickelodeon Parents’ Picks “Best Museum in Houston 2009 & 2010,” Click2Houston’s “Best Museum 2010,” the Children’s Museum of Houston is a Citysearch.com’s nationwide 5-star children’s museum. It is dedicated to transforming communities through innovative, child-centered learning with a vision to spark a passion for lifelong learning in all children. Founded in 1980 and housed in a whimsical building designed by internationally acclaimed architect Robert Venturi, the Children’s Museum of Houston offers a multitude of innovative exhibits and bilingual learning programs for kids ages birth to 12 years. The Museum serves more than 1,100,000 people annually and operates as a 501(c)(3) under the direction of a Board of Directors. It is located at 1500 Binz in Houston’s Museum District. Admission is $9 per person and $8 for seniors 65 years and older and for members of the military. Children under one and Museum Members receive free admission.

Free Family Nights are offered Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. courtesy of the Houston Endowment, the Wortham Foundation, Inc. and the John P. McGovern Foundation. HALLOWEEN DAY HOURS ARE 10 A.M. TO 8 P.M. ON OCT. 31. HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR HOURS ARE 4 TO 8 P.M. ON OCT. 31. Business Hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from Noon to 6 p.m. The Museum is open at 9 a.m. on the Second Saturday of every month for Museum Members. The Museum is closed Mondays but open on Federal Holidays, during Houston Independent School District’s Spring Break and during the summer months from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, please visit www.cmhouston.org or call (713) 522-1138. The Children’s Museum of Houston is A Playground for Your Mind™ Can your mind come out to play?™